A group of Los Angeles-based investors that includes a French soccer star, a real estate developer and a business appraiser wants to bring a Major League Soccer team to Seattle to start play in 2010.

The group -- Atletico Seattle Management Co. LLC -- also wants to build a 25,000-seat soccer stadium somewhere in a suburban city near Seattle. The stadium, which Atletico Seattle estimates would cost about $135 million, would be privately financed.

Atletico Seattle is the third group to make known its interest in a Major League Soccer expansion team for the Seattle area. The group wouldn't say which cities in the Puget Sound region have talked with it.

Atletico Seattle is led by 44-year-old Belgian Nevin Sanli, president of L.A.-based business valuation firm Sanli Pastore & Hill Inc. Other investors in the group include L.A.-based real estate developer Larry Kosmont and French soccer star Frank Leboeuf, who was part of the 1998 World Cup champion team and 2000 Euro Cup champion team.

To be sure, Atletico Seattle's efforts are in the early stages and the group faces competition from other groups intent on bringing a new team to the Pacific Northwest. Kosmont said Atletico Seattle's push started about two months ago.

Adrian Hanauer, managing director of the Seattle Sounders minor-league soccer team and a longtime soccer insider here, said there is an as-yet unannounced group of investors that is further along in the expansion process than Atletico Seattle.

Hanauer declined to say who belongs to that investment group.

Hanauer also is interested in owning a Major League Soccer team, or a stake in one. He said he hasn't yet decided which route to go.

The Sounders play at 67,000-seat Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. Hanauer said Qwest Field might be able to serve as a long-term venue for a pro soccer team if properly configured for games that typically draw about 15,000 fans.

Also, an investment group led by L.A.-based real estate developer James Keston has been sniffing around Seattle and Portland in the hopes of bringing a new Major League Soccer team to either city.

Keston did not return several phone calls seeking comment.

League Commissioner Don Garber earlier this week announced the league's intent to expand from 13 to 16 teams by 2010. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia, are among potential sites for new teams.

Expansion teams would cost $30 million, up from about $20 million in 2006, an indication of the rising value of Major League Soccer franchises, league officials say.

Daniel Rascher, president of Sports Economics, a Berkeley, Calif.-based consulting firm, said demand for Major League Soccer franchises was fairly low until just a few years ago.

However, in the past year, teams have been selling for a premium. Rascher cited as examples the $30 million sale of D.C. United in January as well as L.A.-based Anschutz Entertainment Group's sale of the Chicago Fire to the L.A.-based Andell Group. Rascher expects the Fire to sell for about $30 million as well.

"It's definitely a seller's market," Rascher said. "MLS has done a great job of bringing in really monied groups like the Hunts and Anschutz, who have experience running these things." (The Hunt family was led by billionaire Lamar Hunt until his death in December 2006. Hunt was the founder and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs.)

As for Seattle's place on the Major League Soccer map, Rascher thinks the area is viable.

In a January 2006 study led by Rascher, Seattle placed in the middle of the pack of a group of 49 U.S. cities with and without Major League Soccer franchises.

The study measured cities' population, per capita income, percentage of male residents between 18 and 34, population growth rate, youth participation in soccer, the number of other major professional sports teams in existence, cost of living, the number of other recreational choices available, the number of other soccer teams and the size of the Hispanic population.

The caveat to Seattle's middle-of-the-pack ranking is the fact that, at least in the case of Atletico Seattle, the potential owners want to build their own stadium with their own money.

"Many of the MLS teams that are now in their own stadiums are becoming close to cash-flow positive," Rascher said. "They can make money in these places."

Unlike Keston, Sanli of Atletico Seattle is decided upon the Seattle area and the Seattle area only. Sanli, Kosmont and Leboeuf had scheduled a two-day visit to the Seattle area starting July 26 to inspect potential sites for a new stadium and meet with area political and civic leaders.

Sanli, a native of Brussels who played competitive soccer there for many years, pointed to the Seattle area's large youth soccer movement and the presence of successful companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Starbucks Corp. as major sources of the region's appeal.

Washington had 123,000 youth and amateur soccer players at the end of 2006, with 70 percent of those based in the Puget Sound region, according to the Washington State Youth Soccer Association.

Oregon had 62,000 during the same period, data from the state's youth soccer association show.

Yet, despite an explosion in youth soccer across the nation, pro soccer has not exactly set the world on fire in the U.S. Average attendance at MLS games has held steady at about 15,500 fans per game since 2004, league spokesman Dan Courtemanche said.

Television ratings on ESPN2 have also been flat over the past two seasons, when Major League Soccer games averaged a 0.2 rating, Courtemanche said. Those ratings are far below the average ratings for pro football, baseball, basketball or hockey.

Sanli envisions building a 25,000-seat soccer stadium in one of the suburban cities near Seattle, which would be used by the new team, tentatively called the Atletico Seattle Football Club. The stadium could also host concerts and festivals and would have 15 to 20 practice soccer fields for team training and local youth, high school and collegiate competition.

But Sanli's proposed stadium isn't the only one under consideration. In early June, Starfire Sports of Tukwila, a nonprofit association for youth and amateur soccer players, announced plans for a new soccer stadium that could seat up to 28,000 fans and house a pro team.

The Starfire Sports Complex already has several practice soccer fields and the new stadium would sit between Interstate 405 and Interstate 5. It also has something Atletico Seattle doesn't -- available land under its control.

"I'm aware of the project, but I haven't talked to (Starfire)," Sanli said. I'm not opposed to talking to them or anyone that's interested in bringing Major League Soccer to the area."

Starfire Chairman and CEO Chris Slatt said he has been aware of Atletico Seattle's interest in the Seattle area for a few weeks.

"I first heard about it a month ago," Slatt said. "We'd be glad to sit down with them and talk about our project."

In addition to Keston, a group in Portland led by businessman Merritt Paulson is trying to win an expansion franchise for that city.

Paulson owns the Portland Timbers, which plays in the same league as the Seattle Sounders. He also owns the Portland Beavers, a Triple-A baseball club that plays in the Pacific Coast League. Both teams play in downtown Portland's PGE Park.

Drew Mahalic, CEO of the Portland-based Oregon Sports Authority, said the organization is in frequent contact with both Paulson and Keston.

"We know MLS wants to be in the Northwest and we know there are owners on the ground here who want MLS in Portland," Mahalic said. "The city that comes up with the best plan and arrangement is where this franchise will be located."